VSR: Women's Soccer Named Team of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The WVU women’ s soccer team has been named West Virginia University’s Team of the Week after winning the 2011 BIG EAST Championship with its 2-0 blanking of Louisville.

The Mountaineers have won back-to-back championships and three titles in the last five years. The Mountaineers won their sixth straight BIG EAST Championship match. Their last loss in the league tournament came in the semifinals of the 2009 Championship.

WVU, winners of eight straight matches, also earned the league’s automatic berth into the 64-team Division I NCAA Championship. The Mountaineers have qualified for the NCAA tournament in 12 consecutive seasons.

This Week in Women’s BasketballThe West Virginia women’s basketball team will play host to Youngstown State in its season opener on Friday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Last Week in Women’s BasketballThe Mountaineers defeated Wheeling Jesuit in a 100-23 exhibition contest ... four players recorded scoring numbers in double figures behind junior Asya Bussie’s game-leading 23 points ... sophomore Taylor Palmer added in 19 points, including a pair of threes, and led the team’s rebounding efforts with eight boards ... redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell took to the court for the first time in uniform after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules and put up 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting ... sophomore Jess Harlee chipped in 11 points and led the Mountaineers’ stealing efforts, contributing seven of WVU’s 25 total steals.

Notes & QuotesThe 2011-12 Mountaineers are a young team with four freshmen and seven returning players, including only one starter from last season and one senior … every player on this year’s roster earned experience on the court as the Mountaineers played three exhibition games overseas in August … junior Asya Bussie has started every game in her Mountaineer career and leads the team in minutes played with 1,838 … as the only returning starter, Bussie is WVU’s leading scorer, averaging 8.2 points per game, and leading rebounder, averaging 4.7 boards per game … newcomers Akilah Bethel and Linda Stepney will fill roles at guard, while Averee Fields and Crystal Leary will assist at forward.

Last Week in Cross CountryThe Mountaineers had the week off from competition.

Notes & QuotesComing off a fourth-place finish at the BIG EAST Championship on Oct. 29, the Mountaineers return to Princess Anne, Md., for a second time this season after placing second at the Maryland Eastern Shore Lid-Lifter Invitational on Sept. 3 ... WVU will look to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional ... Harrison, Gillespie and Brault have led the team in finishes in two consecutive races ... the Mountaineers are ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional rankings released two weeks ago by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches of America ... the USTFCCCA national rankings will be released next Tuesday following the six NCAA regionals ... having qualified Katie Gillespie and Sarah-Anne Brault at last year’s NCAA Championship, the team hopes to earn enough at-large points Saturday to qualify as a team for nationals on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. ... the Mountaineers seek their fourth Top 10 national finish in five years this season.

This Week in RifleThe No. 3-ranked West Virginia rifle team returns to the WVU Rifle Range after an open week and plays host to No. 5 Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 a.m. … the match is expected to last all day.

Last Week in RifleThe Mountaineers (5-0, 3-0 GARC) did not compete last week.

Notes & QuotesThe Mountaineers are 6-3 all-time against the Rebels, a Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) opponent … this weekend’s match is WVU’s final competition of the year … WVU will return to action on Jan. 14 when it plays host to Akron.

This Week in RowingThe Mountaineers travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete in the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River ... it marks the fifth and final regatta of the fall season for West Virginia.

Last Week in RowingThe West Virginia novice team traveled to Fairfax Station to compete at the Head of the Occoquan on the Occoquan River … in women’s novice open four competition, the ‘A’ crew of Brianna Dendler, Rachel Cokeley, Sarah Hansard, Enya Messersmith and coxswain Alexandra Basil crossed the finish line in 22:00.85 behind Delaware (21:35.46) to take home a silver medal, while the ‘B’ crew placed seventh out of 20 crews overall … in women’s novice open eight competition, West Virginia’s ‘A’ crew finished in sixth place, while the ‘B’ crew finished 18th out of 26 crews.

Notes and QuotesLast year at the Philadelphia Frostbite, several novice four crews placed well with the ‘B’ crew taking first in flight three ahead of the ‘C’ crew which took second, and the ‘A’ crew placing second in flight two … WVU’s varsity eight placed first in its flight two race … the Mountaineers’ ‘A’ and ‘B’ varsity four crews placed second in their respective flights.

This Week in Men’s SoccerThe Mountaineers will be off from competition before learning their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, Nov. 14.

Last Week in Men’s SoccerWest Virginia bowed out of the BIG EAST Tournament with a 2-0 loss to St. John’s on Sunday evening in a BIG EAST Quarterfinal match.

Notes and QuotesBoth teams took nine shots, while St. John’s held a 6-2 advantage in shots on-goal … the Mountaineers were able to grasp the corner kick advantage at 4-2 … Travis Pittman took a game-high four shots, including two shots on goal … goalkeeper Pat Eavenson made his third consecutive start in net, making four saves in the loss.

“We didn’t follow the game plan, we were lethargic and we stood around waiting for things to happen. We didn’t really do anything with any sense of urgency until we were down and then we started to get up after the game.” – coach Marlon LeBlanc after the St. John’s loss

This Week in Women’s SoccerBy virtue of its 2011 BIG EAST Championship, West Virginia has earned the league’s automatic berth into the 64-team Division I NCAA Championship … WVU will learn its postseason matchup on Monday at 4:30 p.m. during the live selection show online at NCAA.com.

Last Week in Women’s SoccerMeghan Lewis’ first game-winner of the season and a strong second half by the Mountaineers pushed No. 11 West Virginia past visiting Georgetown, 5-1, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship … WVU played to a 1-1 score after 45 minutes that favored Georgetown … West Virginia came out strong after intermission as Lewis scored her third goal of the season in the 49th minute … the senior defender sent a banger into the upper left corner from 18 yards out for a 2-1 lead … the Mountaineers would add goals from Frances Silva (56:11), Kate Schwindel (60:03) and Chelsey Corroto (73:59) to complete the scoring … goals from forwards Miller and Silva, and a stout defensive effort, guided No. 11 West Virginia past Louisville, 2-0, in front of 1,550 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in the finals of the BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship … the Mountaineers won their second consecutive title and third in the last five years … Miller knocked home a penalty kick in the 28th minute to open the scoring after Schwindel was taken down inside the box on a through ball from midfielder Bri Rodriguez … Silva punched in a beautiful cross from junior defender Bry McCarthy for her eighth goal of the year to give the Mountaineers a 2-0 advantage.

Notes & QuotesFive women’s soccer players earned all-BIG EAST recognition at the annual BIG EAST awards banquet last week … senior Blake Miller was named to the all-BIG EAST first team, while four Mountaineers earned second team all-BIG EAST honors: freshman Sara Keane, junior Bry McCarthy, freshman Kate Schwindel and sophomore Frances Silva … Schwindel was also named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year … she joins Ashley Banks (2004) and Lisa Stoia (2000) as the conference’s top rookie … the Mountaineers have won five BIG EAST division crowns under coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.

This Week in Swimming & DivingThe WVU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will face BIG EAST foes Cincinnati and Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 12, at noon … the meet will be held in the WVU Natatorium.

Last Week in Swimming & DivingBoth teams were idle.

Notes and QuotesThe Cincinnati meet has become an annual event with the men taking a victory last year (195-101), while the women fell to the Bearcats (162-130) … WVU last faced Villanova during the 2009-10 season with the men winning 206-35 and the women dropping the meet 135-106.

This Week in VolleyballThe West Virginia University volleyball team will finish BIG EAST regular-season action as it welcomes USF … the Mountaineers will face the Bulls at 2 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the WVU Coliseum ... this will be the final home match for WVU’s five seniors Kylie Armbruster, Michelle Kopecky, Abby Monson, Kari Post and Serinna Russo.

Last Week in VolleyballThe Mountaineers continued BIG EAST play as it lost to Connecticut 3-1 before sweeping St. John’s 3-0 … WVU’s record on the season is now 7-17 (5-8 BIG EAST) with only two matches remaining in the season.

Notes and QuotesWVU finished out its BIG EAST road trips for the season by losing to Connecticut 3-1 before sweeping St. John’s 3-0 … the Mountaineer victory over the Red Storm was the first BIG EAST road trip win of the season for WVU … junior outside hitter Anke de Jong led the offensive efforts with 26 kills, a .288 hitting percentage and 3.71 kills per set … the Netherlands native had a match-high 15 kills against Connecticut and also put down 3.75 kills per set … de Jong also had a season-high hitting percentage of .385 against St. John’s by posting 11 kills and one error on 26 attempts … senior setter Kari Post and senior outside hitter Kylie Armbruster each recorded double-doubles in the match against Connecticut … Post finished with 40 assists and 12 digs, while Armbruster finished with 14 kills and 13 digs … after recording 46 digs this past weekend, senior libero Serinna Russo moves into the WVU record book … the Riverside, Calif., native now has 474 digs on the year, which places her at No. 7 on the total digs in a season list.

This Week in WrestlingThe Mountaineers travel to the Washington & Jefferson Tournament in Washington, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 12 … the tournament is an open format tournament with teams throughout the Atlantic and northeast regions competing.

Last Week in WrestlingThe Mountaineers traveled to College Park, Md., for the University of Maryland Duals … WVU defeated Johns Hopkins, 48-0, and Franklin & Marshall, 41-0, to open the season.

Notes and QuotesThe last time WVU started the season off 2-0 was 2009 … the team’s hot start was fueled by six pins and two tech falls that come from a combined eight different Mountaineer wrestlers … redshirt junior Colin Johnston (133), who was making his return to the mat after missing last season due to injury, did not allow a single point during the weekend … redshirt sophomore Mac Mancuso led the team with an impressive 13 takedowns during the weekend … freshman Dominic Prezzia scored a pin at the 1:03 mark of his first career collegiate match … redshirt senior Brandon Williamson and redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi were the two Mountaineers to register technical falls.